Do you ever get the feeling you’re being tricked? That stomach-lurching sensation that comes when you’ve been played for a fool? Well, you better get used to it, because you’re going to be feeling it a lot more often. In the contemporary digital era, trickery is the name of the game. The internet is already awash with deepfake porn and AI-generated art, and now a new kind of content chicanery has emerged: Fake user-generated content (UGC).
You may not have heard this term before, but mark my words, you’ve seen some of it. Last October, there was the story about a TMZ reporter who, after seeing ASAP Rocky on a jog, decided to run after him. She chased him in her flip-flops, and then resorted to running barefoot, while asking questions about his forthcoming new album. At the end of the video, Rocky conveniently recommended that she cop some kicks from his Puma x F1 collection.
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Then there was Charli XCX’s viral Instagram post about a supposed list of “marketing ideas” she’d sent by her record label, which included “Charli leaks a sex tape” and “Charli gets caught shoplifting”. Just days later, the popstar appeared to have been filmed by a fan – one with over 28k followers on X – driving in a convertible with the roof down, blasting her new single.
Can we 100% confirm that these seemingly spontaneous incidents were actually carefully considered marketing ploys? No. But does everything smell intensely fishy at the moment? Yes.
Other examples of UGC soon reveal themselves to be fake. In January, Michael Cera was in the news headlines after he was pictured carrying plastic bags chock-full of CeraVe skincare lotion through the streets of New York. “Why is Michael Cera carrying that much lotion,” asked one Twitter user, posting the paparazzi-style photo to around 18,000 followers. The next day, influencer Haley Kalil posted a video on TikTok of a casual visit to her local pharmacy, where she witnessed Cera signing bottles of lotion – apparently unexpectedly. “Guys run to this pharmacy in BK, I just saw MICHAEL CERA signing bottles!!” she captioned her post. “I’m a #ceravepartner, and I’m asking @CeraVe what is going ON.”
Of course, what was going on was marketing, and the whole thing culminated in a halftime ad at the Super Bowl. The viral marketing partnership was heralded by some fans as “the best Super Bowl commercial in years.”
To some degree, all marketing is a game of smoke and mirrors. The entire point is to make people pay attention to what the advertisers want them to. And the CeraVe commercial did a great job of making a splash, while distracting consumers from the calls for boycott that its parent company, L’Oréal, is currently facing because of its ongoing investments in Israel.
The question is, why are marketers turning to fake UGC as their new trick? Is everyone sick of traditional marketing methods? And does it actually work, or does it run the risk of leaving people with a bitter taste in their mouths once they realise their favourite influencer or celebrity has played them for a fool?
”It feels more prominent at the moment, but ‘fake’ content has always been a part of advertising,” Chris Kubbernus, founder and CEO of social media agency Kubbco, tells VICE. “PR stunts, flash mobs, hidden camera stunts, candid cameras – all are faking content to create a reaction and to do something subversive.” But, he admits, things have stepped up a notch recently. “We’re seeing more ‘fake advertising’ now because people are allergic to traditional advertising, unless it’s during the Super Bowl or Christmas,” he says.
Charlie Howes, CEO of digital marketing agency Klatch, seems to agree. “Social media platforms have become saturated with content, and users are bombarded with advertisements,” he says. “To cut through the noise, brands are resorting to more unconventional methods.” Enter, fake UGC. In Kubbernus’ opinion: “‘Faking it’ seems to be working better because it feeds into our desire for controversy, mystery and internet drama.” Basically, we might be more sceptical of traditional advertising than ever, but in our hearts we’re all messy bitches who can’t resist a good bit of stagecraft.
UGC, of the genuine variety, has always been a boon for advertisers in the 21st century. Take the 2009 Ford Fiesta campaign where the company gave away 100 cars and asked consumers to provide ongoing feedback about the vehicle on social media. It spurred a 37% increase in brand awareness. “Another remarkable example is Cancer Research UK’s no make-up selfie campaign, which raised over £2 million in a span of a few weeks,” says Jaya Kypuram, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of East London. “The biggest contribution of UGC is that of authenticity,” she says. “It makes information being provided more credible as it is coming from customers, users and other publics.”
The problem now is all this authentic influencer marketing and UGC simply isn’t hitting the same anymore. As Georgia Branch, co-founder of marketing agency We Create Popular, puts it, “Authenticity has become the much-loathed catch-all for how brands, influencers and consumers should be showing up online and in real life. But in a world where everyone is trying to be authentic for profit, the commodification of the idea is diluted to almost nothing.”
So, what does go viral in this authenticity-saturated world? “Great stories,” Branch says. Indeed, she seems to welcome the rise of fake UGC, of the kind created by CeraVe. “Surrealism in marketing is kind of refreshing after years of very earnest, po-faced purpose ads,” she says.
TikTok seems to be the main influence behind the surrealist turn. Wackiness is the platform’s lifeblood, and sequential storylines – like the one played out by Cera – perform well. “The major change that’s happened since TikTok was introduced is that ‘social media’ is no longer social,” says Branch. “It’s primarily entertainment, so everything is ‘programmed’.” Just look at all those videos of influencers getting out of bed in the morning, with their hair done and the camera magically arranged at the perfect angle. “As a consumer it’s important to go in with an expectation that nothing is ‘off the cuff’,” Branch says.
“The recent Charlie XCX video feels fake to me,” says Richard Michie, CEO of The Marketing Optimist. “The ‘leaked list’ of marketing ideas seems phoney as well,” he adds. “But the crucial point is that it got people talking, resharing and creating opinion posts in response, which is the key to marketing… Under the posts, there are haters, and there are people who love it. Everyone has a strong opinion, and this is probably the point of it all.”
Emotion is a key driver of consumer behaviour, according to Adam Brannon, senior content strategist at marketing agency Herd. “Content that can elicit strong feelings [is] more likely to be shared and remembered,” he says. Campaigns that blend reality and fiction often evoke these emotional reactions, he adds, “whether it’s amusement, surprise, or even outrage, leading to higher levels of engagement.”
But, Brannon also warns that fake UGC can be a double-edged sword. “This approach can create scepticism among consumers,” he says, “making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between what is real and what is fabricated.” He believes marketing professionals must navigate this delicate balance carefully, “prioritising transparency and ethical practices to maintain consumer trust”.
“Brands need to be careful how they engage with their audience if they want them to trust them and remain loyal fans,” says PR and media expert Natalie Trice. “Fake user generated content is not going away because everyone out there is fighting for golden virality,” she says. “But we must remember that people don’t want to be fed lies, they do not want to be exploited.”
At the end of the day, marketers and advertisers will use whatever’s in their toolbox to get their brand noticed. And, in this booming era of fakes, lies have never been so lucrative. “The feeling that evil marketers are trying to trick you is, in some respects, justified,” Michie admits. “It’s always been seen as an industry full of spin.” Ultimately, he says, a good rule of thumb for spotting fake content is to “trust your gut and use common sense… If something seems too good to be true or looks fake, it probably is.” That’s marketing, baby!
